Hippie Samcedes
by samcedeswannabe
Summary: Sam Evans fought a gruelling battle for his life in Vietnam, but an accident gets him sent back home early. He's not sure where his life is heading, but things change rather drastically when he encounters a special kind of flower. Sometimes fate is just all in the stars. *Short story I shared on tumblr, sorry if there are a lot of errors*
1. Chapter 1

Sam adjusted his duffle bag over his shoulder as he clenched his jaw and walked through the crowds of young people chanting. His buddy Puck clapped him on the shoulder and spoke by his ear, "Ignore them, they don't know the things we've seen man." Sam nodded and raked his hand through his short dirty blonde hair. These people didn't know who he was, these people with their flowers in their hair didn't have to fight in bug infested lands and watch their buddies explode right in front of their eyes as they stepped on hidden mines. The young smooth face that he had once had was now replaced by a darkened complexion and lines of age. He picked at a scab on his arm as he tried to drown out the noise surrounding him.

"Make love not war!"

"You're all bastards, evil bastards!"

"How could you do those things to those poor children?" Sam turned his head and stared at the man with glasses. "You burned them! You burned them with poison! What kind of world is this?"

Sam had to swallow the bile that was forming in his throat. He remembered the screaming kids as they ran towards the water as they tried to rid their bodies of the gas that had been dropped on them. He remembered watching their clothes burn off of their bodies. He rubbed the scruff on his face and scratched the mosquito bites on his neck. He didn't want to think anymore, he wanted to just sit down and relax underneath a tree, but he figured that this wouldn't be the place for it. He regretted going to the war, he regretted not running away with his brother Stevie to Canada. He regretted witnessing and taking part of the horror that had fallen on the Vietnamese. Every night Sam tried to sleep but only saw the burning huts of innocent people who wished to not be involved in the war. He saw the slaughtered family members and animals as vengeance against the Vietnamese people who tried to hide their brothers and fathers. And he always saw the cruelty that ravaged the lands at the hands of his own friends and other fellow Americans.

He continued to walk in this daze when he felt someone grab his arm. He looked over at the shorter woman who barely reached his shoulder and pulled his arm away from her. He stared at her thick afro which was adorned with bright flowers.

"Don't be afraid of me brother, I know you must've seen some real horrors over there." Sam eyed her dark skin and wondered what she wanted from him. Yes, he had fought alongside men of colour for the last few years and he had no problem with them overseas. But once they had come back home, the separation between the groups was strengthened once again. Only an hour ago, he had tried to get a milkshake with his buddy Matt Rutherford, to be told that no coloreds were allowed. Sam had protested saying that this was his friend and they had fought together to protect this country. The soda shop owner proceeded to threaten the pair by saying he would call the police if they didn't leave his establishment. Matt shook his head and walked off, Sam hadn't seen him since.

"You okay man? you look real uptight?" Sam blinked at her.

"I'm fine ma'am. Just wondering why you talking to me I guess?" The shorter woman smiled and handed him a flower.

"Because we're one in the same…you and I both have blood, we both bleed….ain't nothing going to change that my friend. There's no escaping how alike we are!" Sam grinned at her and wondered if she was on something. "We've been fighting a war against communism, but like Dr. King said, we should be fighting against the war on racism here, don't you think?"

"I don't have a problem with you." Sam said simply and the woman smiled.

"What's your name green eyes?"

"Sam…Sam Evans." She nodded and twirled around.

"Groovy name man, I'm Mercedes….Jones, but they call me wild flower!" Sam smiled and tried to shake her hand but she gave him a hug instead. "No need for formalities, you are you, and I am me."

Sam raised his eyebrow and chuckled. "You sure are something else uh…Wild flower."

"I'm the world man….I'm the world." Sam smiled down at her when he felt someone place their hand on his shoulder.

"We gotta go Evans, say peace to your hippy friend." Puck laughed and joined the rest of their friends.

Sam turned and looked down at her. "Nice meeting you Mercedes." He didn't want to have to leave her. She seemed so interesting and it was the first time in months that he hadn't thought about the war every single second. "Maybe we'll meet again."

"If the stars show it, it'll happen." She looked up at the bright sun. "Guess we're shit out of luck right now aren't we?" She laughed and Sam laughed with her. "Bye army man, pray for the souls of the lost before they find you." Sam's face grew serious as he watched her twirl back into the crowd of protesters. He sighed to himself as he walked over to the group of tired, thin men waiting by the tree.


	2. Chapter 2

Hippie Samcedes part 2

Sam slowly walked up the sidewalk towards the ageing front door with the little scratches in it. He put his duffle bag on the porch and adjusted his suit. He slowly reached up to knock, but quickly looked to the left as he heard the wind rustle through the rosebush in the garden. For two minutes he stood still staring at it expecting a VC fighter to jump out. _I won't die, I made it this far, ya'll can't kill me now._

Hearing a car horn in the distance brought him out of his confusion. He slowly blinked and looked around his surroundings. _You're home now, they can't get you anymore._ He tried to still his shaking hand as he reached up to knock on the front door again. _What are they gonna think of ya? Will they be happy you're alive? That you're back? You ain't really back though…and you know it._ Sam's mouth set into a grim line as he watched his mother open the door. The shorter blonde woman simply stared at him for a moment before Sam saw the recognition slowly enter her eyes.

"Samuel…?" She whispered as she quickly covered her mouth with her fingers. "You..you're alive?" He stared at the frail woman in front of him and nodded. He hadn't seen her for over three years and she looked absolutely the same. The only difference was the gray hairs he saw tied in with the blonde strands. Her eyes slowly travelled to his left arm and she gasped. "What happened to you?"

"I'll tell you all about it if you let me in." He shifted his weight awkwardly as he felt her uncomfortable gaze on his arm.

"I'm sorry of course." His mother stepped back and Sam picked up his bag and walked into the small home. "Your father's not home and Stacy's at school." Sam nodded and looked around the familiar yet different surrounding. He didn't remember the table being so small before, or the carpet being so white. It disturbed him that everything was so spotless and clean. It just didn't make any sense. He dropped the bag on the ground and watched as the dust rose up from it into the clean house. His mother coughed behind him and he turned around and stared at her as she looked at his bag in disgust.

"It's not that dirty, you don't have to worry I'll clean it up." He said dryly and she looked up into his eyes and shook her head.

"Can you clean without….um." She looked around at anything but his face and clasped her hands together, "You hungry?"

Sam tried to hold back the angry laugh that was building in his throat. Of course his mother wouldn't be able to deal with her now less than perfect son. She'd be wondering about how they would get him married now in the condition that he had come home in.

"Without what mom?" He stared blankly at her and she stared down at his arm again.

"Nothing, I just wanted to know if you were—" She took a step backwards.

"NO! Without what? Finish your thoughts. Finish them now." He cut her off and stepped towards her while raising his voice.

"You don't have a forearm Sam! The damn war has gone and mutilated you!" She shivered and looked at the wrapped up arm as if it was disgusting.

"That's what happens sometimes mom. Sometimes you come back destroyed on the outside and on the inside…..I got lucky, it was just the outside." She looked at him with pity and he rolled his eyes. "Don't look at me like that." He growled at her.

"I just, what do you want me to do?" Her eyes started to water up. "You should have gone with your brother." She bit her lip and looked down at the ground.

"Oh now you think that would have been a good idea?" he advanced on her, "Where was this wisdom when I actually needed it?" Startled she walked back until her body hit the door behind her. "Don't look so scared. I wouldn't waste my energy on hurting you." He quickly walked towards the kitchen and exited through the back door into the hot weather. He sighed and made his way back towards the protests where he had left his friends.

It bothered him that the looks he was receiving on the road from strangers were not those of praise of his heroism, but sadness and pity. He was a hero, or so he thought he was. He had gone and fought in a war that hardly any men had made it back from, but here he was getting these sad and disappointed looks. He walked faster when he heard a car horn honk at him. He spun around and stared at the afro haired girl leaning out the backseat window.

"Hey man, guess the stars were down for us." She smiled her perfect white teeth. "Need a ride friend?" Sam looked at the other assorted group of people in the car and smelled the weed drifting out through the windows.

"No, I'm good." He turned to walk away.

"Wait, cool your shoes green eyes." She hopped out of the car and waved goodbye to her friends. "Where you goin in such a hurry? You need to slow down and enjoy life."

"Why are you talking to me? I don't have anything for you." He said angrily. Sam just wanted to be alone and her presence wasn't helping him relax.

"It's 1971 my man, we are entering a new era!" She put her fist in the air and Sam stared at her in confusion. "We are uniting, don't you see that? Change is coming my brother, you gotta let it slide all over you" Sam stopped himself from rolling his eyes and continued to walk down the street. "The war ain't over yet, so why are you back?" She stared up at him as she tried to keep up with his pace.

He stopped abruptly and stared down at her. "I have no damn arm, what good am I to the war now?" She slowly looked at his arm and then grinned.

"Oh no baby, you can do anything still. You still good, don't think that mister stub gonna stop you from being great my man." Sam squinted his eyes at her. He was surprised that she wasn't disgusted or mortified by his appearance.

"…Thanks." He finally choked out. She smiled and walked over to his other side. He looked at her in surprise as she linked arms with him.

"No sweat, so where we headin?" Sam shrugged.

"Just away from here." He continued to walk and stared back at the strangers staring at them. They did make an odd looking pair. Her being so carefree and colourful and him being so dark and sad.

"Away is my thang, I do it real good my man." She smiled up at him and he couldn't resist smiling back. The shorter woman reached into her hair and pulled out another flower. She stopped walking and stood on her tip toes and put it behind his ear. "Now you look good. Spread the love and spread the flowers."

Sam laughed and was slightly startled by the sound. He hadn't found anything really funny in a long time. He stared down at her as she linked arms with him again. He didn't know how he felt about anything, but he knew that he didn't mind the company of this particular wild flower.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3 Hippie Samcedes

"Man, your clothes is giving me some bad vibes dude, I can feel all the bad just pouring out of them. It's stinking up the air." Mercedes looked over at the peculiar man with the dark green eyes. She wasn't sure why she was so drawn to him, but something had told her to reach out and make him feel better.

"My clothes smell?" He looked aggravated and took a whiff of his clothes. "They don't smell bad to me."

"Nah man, it's the death I smell. I can feel the ghosts all around you, it's funking up my aura." She bobbed her head to the loud music playing nearby. "These tunes are so damn groovy. Feel tha funk." She started to do the robot and Sam stood there staring at her as he tried to hide his laughter. She finally stopped and scrunched up her face as she stared at his clothes again. "We have to get you some new threads. To make you smell cool and fly."

"I like my clothes and I ain't gonna change em." He shoved his right hand into his pocket and stared at his left shoulder. "They don't have clothes for my particular situation if you know what I'm saying."

"I feel you, I feel you." She paused and scratched her forehead. "I got it. Leather is in, people dig it. All we gotta do is get you some leather. Let me give you the skinny." She moved closer to his face. "Chicks dig the leather." She noticed the slight flush that crept up his neck and smiled. "Don't be turning red. It's far out."

"Do you hear yourself when you speak?" He moved away from her and looked around. "You sound….I don't understand half of what you're saying."

"Because you're not listening. You need to chill. Why don't you just lay back and lay a gasser." Sam stared at her in disbelief.

"What the flying fuck?" He shook his head and looked back the way they had come from. "I'm going back to my place."

"Hey man, no need to go back to your crib. Be cool you know." She grabbed his hand. "We gonna catch you a nice bunny and get you some lovin." She pulled Sam into a nearby store and waved the peace symbol at the cashier.

"What you doing bringing that suit in here Wild Flower, we ain't got time for him." The cashier scowled at the blonde man.

"Chill. He's with me. He ain't part of that life anymore man." Sam stared at the cashier who rolled their eyes and waved them in. When they had walked a bit deeper into the store, Mercedes turned to him and spoke low. "He's a putz. Don't let him mess with you." She stared hard at his face and could see the worry lines creased over his tanned skin. She smiled a small smile and looked over at the jackets that were hanging on the rack.

"None of these look like they'll fit. They're too big." Sam sighed as he looked through the used coats. "I guess I've lost a bit of weight since I left."

"Don't worry, you are still looking good to me." Mercedes muttered under her breath as she picked through the clothing. Sam looked at her from the corner of his eye and smiled. Suddenly the shorter woman gasped. "This is far out." She pulled out a dirty leather jacket.

Sam screwed his face up as he stared at the dirty material. "I'm not wearing that."

"Yes you are! It's going to be ace." She jumped up in excitement and grabbed his hand. Sam panicked as she took him deeper into the store. He started feeling trapped and had flashbacks of tall trees and bird calls. A light film of sweat developed on his forehead. "Here, change in here." Sam opened the eyes he hadn't realised he had closed and stared at the stall. He took the coat from her hand and walked inside. He slowly pulled off his uniform shirt and left on the tight white one that was underneath. He stared at his left arm in disgust as he tried to hold back his tears. "Are you decent?" Mercedes yelled from behind the curtain. Sam pulled on the leather coat as best he could and stepped out.

"Woah baby, you look bad!" She said with a mischievous grin. Sam's expression fell and he started to feel self conscious. Mercedes took in his crestfallen expression and laughed. "That means good!"

Sam stared at her in confusion. "I really wish you'd speak in English. I don't know what the hell you're sayin." Mercedes shrugged and turned him around so he could see himself in the mirror. He had to admit to himself that he looked good. You didn't even notice anything was missing if you weren't looking for it. "Wow."

"That's what I'm sayin. It's like totally bitch'n." Sam turned around and smiled down at her.

"I know that means really good right?" Mercedes smiled back.

"Right on my brother. Let's throw down some bread and book it." Sam nodded and walked back into the stall to get his shirt. "Ditch it. It's nothing but ghosts to the max." He looked back over at her and slowly nodded. They walked back to the cashier and bought the coat and left the store.

"So Mercedes….tell me about yourself." Sam looked over at her curiously and watched her bite her lip.

"I'm in school and I love to groove to some rad tunes. I don't like the man and I hate war. Make love not war!" She said enthusiastically. Sam raised his eyebrow at her.

"What about family and stuff?" He walked slowly beside her as they headed to God knew where.

"I…my family? They ain't my style if you know what I'm sayin. They don't get what I'm tryin to do." He watched as the sadness entered her eyes. "They blow me off a lot, cause I'm not what they wanted me to be."

"Who did they want you to be?" He stopped walking and looked at her. She shrugged.

"A perfect little girl who went to college and became something. But you know what I became? I became Wild Flower and if that ain't good enough, then fuck em." She crossed her arms over chest. "What bout you?"

"My folks pushed me into the war and told me that my brother was a coward for headin up to Canada." Mercedes nodded. "Then I kept getting their letters and they'd be like we're proud of you, we're proud of you come home, and then finally come home now, the war ain't good no more." He felt his face get heated with anger. "It was too late….I was in too deep. I saw too much…..I saw too much death and hurt."

Mercedes studied his face and took his hand in hers. "I want to make you feel good." She smiled sincerely, "No more pain my friend. I'm going to take you to my hangout."


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4 Hippie Samcedes

Sam quietly surveyed his surroundings as he watched the long haired smoking people pass around a cigarette. Generally, these were not the type of people who he associated with, especially not be free choice. He crossed his legs over each other and let his eyes land on a blue eyed girl with extremely long blonde hair. She was sitting with a dark haired, slightly darker skinned woman who was smoking a cigarette and blowing the puffs into the blonde womans face. The couple had caught Sam's attention because of a rather obese cat that just laid there between the legs of the fairer girl.

"I don't know Satan, that dude was like totally bogue. Can you dig it?" The blonde girl turned to the darker haired girl. "Like he totally didn't believe I was a unicorn and I'm like dude, you're such a putz. I am a unicorn." The woman named Satan passed over the cigarette to her friend. She took it between her fingers and pulled a long drag from it before she continued speaking."And then's he's like, don't be such a spaz. And I'm like fuck you man, don't make me throw Lord Tubbington at your ass. He looks fat, but he really ain't all that fat you know." Sam watched as she absent mindedly pet the cat between her legs and he had to wonder if it was even alive.

"Chill Sunshine. Don't listen to the man, man. They always tell us to do what the man wants and I'm like fuck you man, you ain't my dad." She leaned over and took the cigarette out of the other girls hand. "You gotta just keep on truckin, like fuck, the man always tells me to wear a bra and I'm like fuck you man, my tits like being long and loose. Grow a box and then tell me to wear a bra." She pulled on the cigarette and stared up into the sky. A tall man with long hair stared at the girl and yelled out.

"

Hey man, don't Bogart that smoke. Pass it down!" Satan rolled her eyes and quickly glanced over at the tall man.

"Fuck you Frankenstein." Despite her harsh words she passed over the quicky shrinking cigarette. "You're such a burn out."

Sam grinned and looked over at the quiet shorter woman with doe eyes who was sitting beside him. She was sipping on a cup of mixed liquor. "I thought hippies were supposed to be peaceful."

"Nah my brother, sometimes we got our own probs, you dig?" She took another sip and closed her eyes. "We be seein brawls around here all the time."

Sam sipped on a cup of water. He didn't know these people well enough to feel comfortable drinking liquor with them. He stared into the fire and sighed. "What do you guys fight about? who stole someones flower." He chuckled and put his cup down.

Mercedes laughed and eyed the man. She liked it when he smiled or grinned. His face just seemed to light up in pure excitement and his eyes began to twinkle. She rolled her eyes at the flower statement. "Buzz off man." She said jokingly to the man beside her as she was handed the circulating cigarette.

"You don't smoke?" Sam raised his eyebrows and glanced down at her.

"I ain't no chump or burn out man. I don't smoke that shit." She glared at him in disbelief. "Not every person down for peace and love gotta do dope." Sam's eyes widened as he looked at the cigarette that was making its way back around.

"I thought it was a normal cig. I didn't mean to rattle your chains." He picked his cup back up and drank from it.

"Nope, thats a doobie. One of them can land you in the cooler if you're not careful. I ain't goin to no cooler for some smoke. If I go, it's cause I was fightin for my freedom and my rights." She shook her head and stared into the fire. "We in a new time my brother, but we all be playin by the same damn rules. You dig?"

Sam nodded. He actually understood what she was saying as he had seen the same ignorant behaviours being exhibited early that day. "I can dig it." Mercedes' head snapped up and she stared at him and smiled.

"Right on my man!" She said cheerfully. "You speakin the lingo now. That's good, Gimme some skin." She extended her hand and sam went to shake it but she slid her palm over his. He gave her a shy smile and continued to drink his water. Mercedes looked over at another blonde girl with flowers in her hair and a very pregnant belly. She was staring very intently at Sam, but he didn't seem to notice. "I think that girl want's to score with you green eyes." Mercedes slowly looked over at Sam as he stared around in confusion.

"She's pregnant." He said in surprise and slight disgust as his eyes landed on the woman.

"That ain't never stopped nobody before." Mercedes said with a chuckle.

"No I don't want to do it with her. I don't want to do it with nobody." He tore his eyes away from the other womans and stared back into the fire.

"Chill man. You ain't gotta do it. But if you want to, you can do it with me." The last part was said so quietly that Sam wasn't even a hundred percent sure he had heard her correctly. "I can give you a good time under these stars here tonight. I can make you feel good baby." She stared right into his eyes and Sam's breath hitched. He looked at the ground and then at his arm and his stomach churned.

"No." He said quietly and refused to look her in the eye.

"Ain't I a foxy mama?" Sam grinned and nodded. "Then why are you being a chump for?" She moved to sit in front of him and he simply stared at her. "I love making love, I'll show you that it's way better than war." Sam stared at her in disbelief.

"People are fucking dying right now and all you're fixated on is doin it?" He struggled to stand up. "What's wrong with you idiots. There's a war against communism right now to save your freedoms and ya'll don't give a shit."

"Damn man, no need to be so heavy." Mercedes scrambled up to speak to him.

"I'm goin home to my family. My dad's probably wiggin out right now." He scratched the mosquito bites on his neck.

"I hear that." She tentatively placed her hand on his left shoulder. He flinched at the contact and then settled into it. "I'll walk you back to your place."

"You don't have to, I'm a soldier I'll be fine."

"It's casual my man, but first I want to take you to a quiet place where I get to thinkin and shit. You know what I'm sayin? You need a lil' cool down my friend." She lightly rubbed his shoulder and Sam nodded.

"Okay…cool." He shrugged.

"Cool." She smiled up at him and led the way to her quiet place.

A/N: What shall happen in Mercedes quiet place? dun dun…just kidding, but not really. Thanks to those reading this, not sure why lol but if you like it yay! The next part will be pretty intense, but not like crazy


	5. Chapter 5

Sam followed Mercedes up a quiet street as he nervously gazed around at the dark silent homes. He never knew a place like this could exist so close to where he lived and where he had gone to school, but here it was. Every few minutes he would see a lone figure walk around the streets and enter a few homes here and there, but there were no jovial sounds of hippie lingo, or brightly coloured people brandishing their peace signs. He glanced down at the large afro puff of the shorter woman beside him and spotted a twig in her hair. He reached up and pulled it out. Feeling a change on her head she looked up at him in confusion.

"Twig." He said casually and threw it to the ground. She nodded and continued on her silent trek. " Where are we headin'? This place don't look safe at all." He clenched his hand as he heard a loud noise come from behind them. He whipped around and saw a man with long hair being chased down the street by a taller blonde male. He paused for a moment and wondered if he should go after them and make sure that they weren't up to mischief.

Mercedes looked over at him and followed his gaze. She smiled and laughed."Chill man, they're only burn outs. They won't do you nothing" She continued walking and then laughed again, "They only care about when they gonna get their next smoke, you know what I'm sayin?"

Sam shook his head, "That don't mean that they won't hurt you. Just means that they might not remember doing it." She shrugged and walked faster. "Hey slow down, I'm not good at walking too fast anymore."

"Make up your mind man, you either wanna walk fast or walk slow and deal with the burn outs." Sam rolled his eyes, "Stop being the fool that you are and keep on truckin'." She paused and looked around before she continued to speak. "We're here anyways." She walked on the over grown grass towards the rickety door. Feeling as if something was off, she turned around to see that Sam hadn't made a move.

"Who owns this place?" He said staring at the small house with the boarded up windows. He was not about to engage in a breaking and entering situation, even if he liked the short chocolate skinned woman.

"The man owns this place my brother, but for right now, we own it. You comin or what?" She stared at him as he looked around him in fear that they would be caught. "The fuzz ain't around man be cool and stop acting like a spaz. Ain't nobody gonna hurt you round here." He still refused to move so she continued on without him. She pushed open the creaky door and walked inside the dark musty house. A sound behind her caused her to turn quickly as she stared at the blonde man in the leather jacket.

"If we get caught, I'm sayin it was all you." Mercedes rolled her eyes but took in the grin that was spreading on his face. She smiled back and laughed.

"Man, you'd rat me out just like that huh? Don't be a chump." She walked towards him and looked up into his face. "Dang, you are fine." She looked him up and down and ran her smaller hands up his firm torso. Sam shivered under her touch as he stared at her. She grinned and walked behind him to close the door. He turned to look at her as she leaned against the door and silently observed him.

"What are you doin?" He stuffed his hand into his pocket. Her gaze was making him feel very self concious.

She sighed and her eyes landed on his face. "You goin around with somebody?"

"I guess I'm going around with you, I have been all day haven't I?" Mercedes looked down and started to giggle. "What?"

"I mean you with someone? You doin someone over here?" Sam's eyes widened and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I just don't do men who are going around with someone, that's one thing I don't do."

"No…I'm not with anyone. I was a virgin when I left here." He cleared his throat and averted her gaze. "I…slept with someone over there….but I don't have the clap or nothing or the virus. I made sure and checked." Mercedes silently nodded and walked towards the stairs. Sam wasn't sure if he had said something wrong but he followed her anyways. She walked into a room with a warm blanket and some pillows on the ground. Sam hesitated at the doorway as he watched her lie down. "What…what are we doin?"

"Whatever you want green eyes…" He was confused because her face looked so serious and sad. It made him want to reach out and hold her. "I see the pain and the hurt in you, I want to make it go away. And no I ain't no jive turkey." Sam grinned and walked towards her and sat down.

He slowly looked over her body and sighed. "I'm damaged Wild Flower…don't you see that? I ain't no hunk…I'm messed up."

"You look good to me baby." She took his face between her warm hands and pressed her full lips against his own. "I ain't never seen a man with lips like these tho." She smiled and kissed him harder. Sam wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in closer. She draped her leg over his and gently pushed him down on to the blanket and pillows. His tongue snaked in between her lips and he tasted the sweetness of her mouth. She sighed into the kiss and her hand wandered underneath his white shirt and she let her hand linger over the tight skin pulled over the muscles on his body. Suddenly she pulled back from him and helped him sit up so that she could pull off his leather coat and shirt. He looked at her face to gage her reaction as she stared at his forever damaged arm.

"Bullet did it." He said while looking into her eyes. He could see the confusion and took a deep breath before he explained. "Got shot….and the medic didn't clean it the way he was supposed to." He shifted his weight. "It got infected and a lot of bacteria began to eat away at my arm….have you ever smelled rotten flesh before? It smells like death and dirt….it's what my arm began to smell like. But it was nothin compared to the pain and the burning I felt." Mercedes clutched her throat in an attempt not to throw up or gag. "Yea…the sight woulda made ya sick. Doc said my arm was not good no more, cut it right off in the middle of that damn jungle." Mercedes reached over and gently stroked his left shoulder.

"It still hurts?" She asked quietly.

"Nah..just in my heart." He touched her face with his right hand and sighed. Mercedes let her hand wander down his chest and she placed her hand on his heart.

"I can make that feel good too..if you let me." Sam wasn't sure why he felt a flutter in his chest when she spoke to him like that, but he liked it. He buried his face into the side of her neck and nodded. She leaned back and pulled off her brightly coloured top and let her full breasts out for him to see. "Touch me…" She said in the same quiet tone. Sam stared at the large breasts and nipples in awe. He had seen some naked women in pictures before, but he had never studied a womans body like this. Never this intimately anyways. When he had slept with that Vietnamese woman during the war, he had been drunk and high out of his mind. His friend Puck had made him do it despite his protests to wait. But Puck was ruthless and had found him the prostitute as a birthday gift for the young blonde. As much as Sam liked Puck…he hated him for the things that he had seen him do, especially to the Vietnamese women. But at this particular moment he tried to push the thoughts from his mind. He slowly reached his hand out to touch her but then quickly dropped it and leaned in and took a firm tip into his mouth.

Mercedes watched as she saw the bright pink tip of his tongue lightly flick her dark peaks. She placed her hand on his shoulder and he took more of her into his mouth with a small moan. She raked her hand over his short blonde hair and wondered what it would look like if it was long and shaggy. She smiled and pressed her cheek against his forehead, when she began to feel something warm and wet drip on to her breasts. Her eyes widened when she realised that the soldier was crying as he sucked on her nubs.

"Sam, baby, what's wrong?" The man's body began to shake harder as the tears continued to flow. He was trying hard not to remember the horrors of the war as he touched her body, but letting himself feel intimate was sadly unleashing an awful amount of painful memories in his mind. He could see Private four eyes Abrams and his large smile and Private Luck of the Irish Flanagan in his mind and his heart began to ache. She cupped his face between her hands and stared into his wet green eyes. He reached between his legs and pulled his erection out and gently cupped her heat. She nodded in understanding and gently moved down to sit on his need for her. They moved silently together in the dark as he gently massaged her back with his hand and she held his head to her chest. Mercedes was not a stranger to sex nor was she a virgin, but what they were doing at that moment filled her with sadness and joy all at once. She brought his lips to her own and sucked on the plump salty pink lip until she felt his body shake beneath hers. When her own body began to go through the waves of desire she slowly rolled off of him and rested her head on his chest.

"Mercedes…." Sam said quietly in the darkness.

"Mhm…" She said just as quietly as she listened to his fast heart beat.

"I want to tell you my story…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hippie samcedes Prt 6 **

Hippie Samcedes Prt 6 :)

Sam slowly marched behind Private Artie 'four eyes' Abrams through the marshy grasslands of Vietnam. At this point he was unaware of his precise whereabouts, but knew that another American troop that had made their way through the exact same place a week ago had been brutally ambushed and massacred. He quietly listened to the distinct bird calls that occasionally broke the silence of the day. They sounded so close, yet so high above him, but he was so tired that he felt like he could just reach up and pluck one from the sky. His body was exhausted and he hadn't eaten in over thirty hours. Most of the men behind him were starting to exhibit signs of delirium and heat exhaustion. He pulled his canteen out of his bag and took a sip of the hot water. He wished he could close his eyes and just pretend that it was a nice cold drink piled high with some ice cubes instead of the rancid water that he was forced to deal with. He clutched his gun to his body as he stumbled through the dirty water that was slowly seeping through his boots. Something dark and green slithered by his left foot and he almost jumped about a foot high. He closely watched as the snake moved through the waters and grabbed a small frog that had just been minding it's own damn business. Sam scratched the stubble on his face as he held his gun in his left hand. He could hear someone throwing up behind him and slightly looked back to see Private Noah 'Hawk' Puckerman wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Ya'll, we all gonna fuckin die out here man." Artie muttered under his breath for the hundredth time that day. "I be seein a mosquito eyein me up man, they gettin ready to eat me and suck me dry. But the jokes on them, cause I ain't got nothin left man, I ain't even got shit. Literally." Sam rolled his eyes as he continued to follow behind the pessimistic man. "Seriously, ya'll know we gonna die right? Them Viet Cong bastards be whoopin our asses every chance that they get."

"Shutup four eyes. We ain't got time for that talk right now. We trying to be optimistic that we gonna get outta here." Sam said quietly. In reality, he was just as scared as Artie was, maybe even more terrified. But having someone else share his thoughts didn't make him feel any better. It just further cemented the notion that they were all going to die and very soon. He reached up and rubbed the sweat that was slowly falling and burning his eyes. This wasn't the life he had wanted to live, he would have given any and everything to be anywhere else.

"_Sam, they can't make us go. I heard a lot of things about Canada and how they really hate this war. If we run over to that side we can find work and be safe. We won't have to go." Sam looked over at his fraternal twin brother Stevie and sighed._

"_Stevie, I ain't raised to be no coward, and neither were you." He sat up in his bed and rubbed his hands together. "It's gonna be a huge adventure and when we get back we gonna get all them ladies, I can already see it. We are gonna leave as children and come back as men." He smiled to himself in the darkness of their quiet bedroom. He and his brother had always been close, well they had to be, they had shared almost everything all of their lives. They were now turning eighteen in two days and still sleeping in the same room that they had had since they were young kids._

"_Who you foolin Sam? We will die if we go….see your problem is that you're too plum stupid to watch the news. Everybody be cheering and saying some good stuff, but when you stay up real late, you see the real war. You see the death and the real problems going on over there." Stevie sighed and turned on his bedisde light. His blue eyes bore into his brothers green ones. "Why you think they need so much men all the time? Because they're dying like flies over there Sam, they're dying every second."Sam glared at his brother._

"_We got enough problems with this family Stevie. Dad already lost his damn job once and embarassed everyone. Now you gonna go and run to maple country like some pussy cat because people are dyin? People die all the damn time, but least if we die we get to see a new place and travel for free."_

"_You bein real ignorant and stupid right now Sam. I ain't a coward for wanting to live and run away. I ain't goin over there to die or to see you die and you can either come with me tomorrow or stay here and get sent off to God knows where and get blown up for nothing."Stevie laid back down in his bed and placed his arm behind his head._

"_You a real damn disgrace to this family man, and if you go and hurt our parents. I ain't never gonna forgive you. I won't have a twin any more, you'd be dead to me and that's that. On top of that, you'd be dying for America and that ain't nothing, that's the biggest something there is. Now I'm tired of arguing with you about this and we're gonna go fight against them commies and come back as heroes. The Evans twins ain't no maple suckers or quitters, you hear me."Sam rolled over in his bed and faced the opposite direction. He waited until he saw the light turn off befor he closed his eyes and went to sleep for the night. In the morning he rolled over and stretched as usual, but felt like something was wrong. He opened his eyes and stared at the empty made bed on the other side of the room. Quickly he jumped out of his bed, tripping on his pyjama bottoms before he made it to his brothers bed and grabbed the note that was laying there._

_I love you and I love mom, pops, and Stace. But I ain't dyin for this war…I've headed up to Canada. I'll be back when this stupid communism shit finally ends._

_-Stevie_

_Sam silently stared at the paper as he felt the tears fall from his eyes. How in the hell was he going to survive without his twin brother by his side._

"Don't you be telling me to shut up man, I got rights. I can speak whenever I want to." Artie spoke and brought Sam out of his memory haze.

"If I buy you a prostitute will you shut up then." Sam quietly pleaded. "If you keep on muttering shit, you gonna get us all killed." It had happened before when all of the men were silently talking and they had missed the quick movement of the VC lurking in the shadows. They had lost two good men that day and ever since then, hardly anybody wanted to be talking during their day travels.

"Deal my man." Sam rolled his eyes and grinned as he continued to follow behind the shorter man. Artie turned around and gave him a huge smile. "I like you Evans, you know how to negotiate, but I still think we all gonna die out here." Sam remembered when he had first met the four eyed little nerd about a month ago. All the men had eyed him up in surprise that he was even able to make it there in the first place.

"_How the hell did you make it in four eyes, you're as skinny as a twig man….maybe even skinnier." Puck had joked as they all laid down in their cots. Puck was a cool guy, well to Sam anyways. They had developed an eerie bond over their training experiences that had lasted all throughout their time serving in the war._

"_I may be skinny my man, but your mom thinks my schlongs big enough to make up for all of that." Artie had retorted. All the men had remained silent for two seconds before they all burst out into loud laughter. Sam wiped the tears in his eyes from the laughter as Puck remained silent as he stared at the small man._

"_Dude, my mom's dead." The room fell silent once again and everyone stared at Artie._

"_Oh…sorry, I didn't know…I um."_

"_Sike! just kidding, but talk about my mom again and I'll kill you." Every man began to laugh again as Artie quickly threw a boot at Pucks head._

"_Fucker," he had muttered under his breath. "But for real though, I'm mad strong and fast. I just look small cause I was sick when I was a kid. Was in a wheelchair for most of the time. But then I got better and now I'm here you assholes, so deal with it."_

"_Welcome man, just don't get blown up or shot up and you'll be good." Sam had said jovially to the new friend._

"_Nah man, I ain't down for that life. I climb trees like a mother fucker too. So I can shoot them bastards point blank if I really wanted to do it. Folks back home call me monkey."Artie said proudly as he removed his glasses._

"_Ye, a blind ass monkey apparently." Sam joked. All the men laughed again and Sam's forehead welcomed a very dirty army boot._

Sam opened his mouth to reply when all the men heard the familiar click. Sam paused to see if his time had come. That click meant one thing and one thing only: death. Someone had just stepped on a booby trapped bomb. He looked into Artie's eyes and saw the fear and the paling of his skin before he quickly closed his eyes and felt the warm blood splatter over his face and body. Sam stood there shaking before he fell to the ground in tears. Someone patted his back and stuck a cigarette into his hand. It felt like ages to Sam before he finally opened his eyes and slowly reached down into the dirty, bloody water, and picked up the round bottle cap glasses.

At a certain time during each man's service, they came to a point where they no longer feared death but welcomed it. After watching Private Abrams get blown up right in front of him a few weeks ago, Sam no longer worried about death but mostly just waited for it to come to him. Had Abrams stepped to the side at that particular moment and Sam continued walking in the path that he had been following for a mile, he would have been the one to kiss the sky. Death was taunting him and telling him that at any moment, he would be it's bitch. And he was no longer scared of the inevitable fate that was offering him a chance at freedom. He covered his face with his hemlet and closed his eyes as he laid back on the dry grassy ground. He could hear his commander Schuester yapping away to some of the men.

"You men are the best men I have ever served with. You guys just keep truckin no matter what happens and man am I proud of you guys." Sam resisted the urge to throw up in his mouth from all the sappiness that the incompetent man spewed out. He was always trying to motivate them with useless words instead of being tactical and helping them actually defeat some VC bastards. More men had died because of his failure to lead than Sam could count on his hands. They had all found out that the only reason why Will Schuester was appointed to be their commander is because his mother Sue Sylvester had married a highly prestigious man who was able to pull all the strings to make his new bride happy, even if that meant sending young adults to their death at the hands of such a slow man. A lot of the guys had a bet that the only reason why Schue was commander was because his mother was motivated to get rid of him and let him die in the deep rank forests and jungles of Vietnam.

"Yo Sam, you okay man?" Sam moved his helmet off of his face and stared up into Puck's face. "You tired of sucking dick or sumthin'?" Puck grinned and Sam quickly sat up and punched him right in the arm.

"Ye I'm good now you ass." He scooted back until his back hit a tree. He looked around and watched as the men relaxed and played cards or simply slept from all the fatigue and exhaustion of the last few days. Sam had to wonder if all them really wanted to be there anymore or if they, like him, were wishing to be somewhere else. His eyes landed on one green eyed excited man who was quietly talking about something with Private Mike Chang. Everyone called the kid lucky because he was either from Ireland or Scotland, one of them places with a clover and weird accents. Sam watched Changs face as he listened to the ramblings of the younger man, it was a mixture of confusion and then eventual laughter. It was a face that many of them had when talking to Private Rory "Lucky" Flanagan. Most of the time no one could understand a single word that he was saying, but for some reason at the end of every one of his jokes he spoke clearly and it was the funniest thing that you had ever heard. It was mostly the reason as to why he wasn't outcasted and welcomed into the quickly shrinking brotherhood.

"Why you starin so hard at Lucky? He owe you bread or somethin?" Puck followed Sam's gaze and also stared at the younger happier man.

"Nah, just curious how he stays so happy all the damn time. That ain't normal man." Sam shook his head and took a swig of water from his canteen. It didn't bother him that Rory was always in such good spirits, it was the fact that he wasn't able to be that way which was what bothered him. He felt like he was sinking into a muddy hole of sadness and upset all the time and every time that he tried to reach up and get out, he slowly sunk back in. It was an ever going battle and he was tired of fighting two very different wars all the time.

"Maybe he's a virgin….virgins always be happy cause they don't gotta miss sex." Puck grabbed the canteen from Sam's hand and drank back some of the water. It was surprisingly cool despite the warm humid weather.

"If that's true, why'd you make me give mine up? I was happy bein happy." Sam grinned over at his mohawked scruffy friend.

"Needed you to be just as miserable as the rest of us Sammy boy." Puck winked at him and handed back over the canteen. "You can't say that she didn't give you the time of your life. I know her little sister gave me a run for my money." Sam slowly glared at his friend and stood up. "What man? you still hurtin over that little piece of ass. I didn't hurt her that bad."

"Puck she was fucking fourteen, what the fuck is wrong with you? If you didn't have the guys hold me back it woulda never happened." Sam clenched his fists and stared down at his friend that he both loved and hated. Flashbacks of the screaming and the yelling that night bounced around in his head. He had to close his eyes to stop the anger from bubbling up and boiling over.

"Why do you care? they fuckin set up traps and kill us like bugs man….we gotta hurt em back anyway that we can." Puck stood up and placed his hand on his friends shoulder. "Least I didn't kill her right?" Sam shook the heavy hand off of his shoulder and walked over to lucky and Chang.

"I miss back home and da people, y'know. They're my fam and y'are my fam but I need my real ma and pa." Private Chang nodded as he tried to listen to Lucky. Sam sat beside them and Lucky's eyes lit up. "Oye Evans, y'are tired I see." Sam nodded and looked around. He was hearing some weird noises. "A good ol nap be what I wantin now." Lucky continued to talk and Sam put his hand up to shush him. He was hearing some tapping noises against the trees. He slowly crawled over to Commander Schue and whispered into his ear.

"Sir…do you hear that?" He looked around and continued to hear the sounds every few seconds.

"Yep! I think it's the squirrels talking to each other, they're all probably storing some nuts." Schue said brightly as he chomped on some stale bread. Sam shook the man and stared into his eyes.

"When have squirrels ever sounded like that?….somethings wrong and I just saw some movement in the trees over th—" Sam was unable to finish his thoughts because bullets started to rain down on the unsuspecting men. Everyone started to scream and run in any way that they could to avoid the gun shots being sprayed over them. Sam crawled back to his gun and shot in any which way he could, but whoever was shooting at them were hidden by the leaves in the trees. "PUCK PUCK!" Sam screamed as he ran towards the nearest body of water.

"Evans! over here man!" Sam looked around and found his friend huddled down in some marshy waters behind some tall grass. He ran over to his side and tried to catch his breath. "What the actual fuck!" Puck was yelling and shooting at anything that wasn't their men. Sam silently watched as Lucky ran passed them as he fumbled with his own weapon. The bullets skimmed off his clothes. Sam shook his head, this kid was really lucky.

"Some adventure boys we be seein here!" Lucky was smiling like a madman.

"Lucky! come here!" The younger man ran towards them and stopped suddenly. Sam watched as the bright light in his eyes slowly but surely dimmed. "LUCKY!" Sam stared in disbelief as the man in front of him fell to his knees and slowly looked down at the red spot that was growing on the front of his shirt.

"Fuck." Was the last word that he muttered as the rest of his body hit the ground. Sam looked around him and saw that the rest of his fellow soldiers were quickly dropping. He couldn't just stay there hiding, he had to do something. He ran out and tried shooting into the trees and wondered how many VC were actually there.

"Evans get back here!" Sam ignored his friends screams and continued on his way. If he was going to die there then he was going to die fighting. He crouched and ran when he tripped over someone. He turned around to look at Private Chang who was clutching his side in pain. He bent over the man and moved his hand to see two bullet wounds in his side. Sam put his hand on the other man's chest as a way of trying to calm him down. He quickly looked around for the medic and spotted the big bushy hair behind the tree. It was always weird to him that Big nose Jacob was able to keep all of that hair, but whenever they cut it, it grew back just as quickly.

"Medic!" Sam yelled at the scrawny man who was cowering behind one of the trees. "Medic, get your ass over here right now! you yellow pansy ass bitch!" Private Jacob blinked quickly and ran over to Sam and attempted to help Chang with his wounds. Sam helped Jacob pull Chang to a safer spot before he ran back out to fight the enemy.

All he could feel was the adrenaline that was quickly making it's way through his body. As quickly as the fighting began it stopped. Sam leaned against a tree and listened to the movements happening above him. He shot up, heard a scream and watched as a small man fell to the ground right in front of his feet. Sam pointed his gun at him and noticed that his neck was turned at a very bad angle and dropped his gun as he looked into the eyes of the man he had just killed. He had to have weighed less than one hundred pounds wet. Sam shook his head and wondered how such a small man could cause so much damage. When he moved to bend down he felt a sharp pain in his arm and looked to see a clean shot right through his left forearm. "Shit." He hissed as he clutched his arm. "Medic…." He said weakly before passing out cold from the exhaustion.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hippie Samcedes part 7 (Final Part)**

Mercedes held the broken blonde man in her arms as he relived the horrors that had happened not so long ago. He was shaking and screaming as he told her about the sudden deaths of his friends and the betrayal of others and her heart hurt for him. She had no idea how to make this once whole man feel whole again despite his injury and the sadness that he held in his heart. So she simply and quietly held him close to her body until he drifted off to sleep. She knew the war was bad, which was why she endorsed flower power and making love not war, but she never knew exactly what it was like for the men on the other side. She had never known the feeling of not fearing death or even welcoming it and it made her wonder if that acceptance did more damage than good. Would this green eyed man in her arms still be welcoming death as an escape from the atrocities he had witnessed in his life or would he now be able to accept that he was alive and was going to stay that way.

He twitched in her arms and she slowly rubbed his head as his wet warm cheek laid on her naked breasts. She closed her eyes and wondered why this experience felt different, why had she let this obviously damaged, in more ways than one, man into her life. Perhaps she had done it because she also knew what it felt like to be alone in a room full of strangers, she also understood the feeling of being left with only loud and tiring thoughts. She listened as he quietly whispered the names of the dead as he slept and she shed a tear for every single one of the men she would never know.

The light of the new day entered the small room and she contemplated waking Sam up. The fact of the matter was that he was a white man and somebody would be worried and looking for him. To find him naked with a black woman in an abandoned house would never prove fruitful for any future endeavours he wished to pursue. Fortunately she didn't have to do much as he began to stir in her embrace. She felt the flutter of his eyelashes against her skin and waited for him to look up at her which he did in slight confusion and then just as suddenly she watched as the recognition entered his eyes. He gave her a small sad smile and pulled away from her.

"Mornin there green eyes, you feelin alright?" She said quietly, feeling a bit self concious that he might shun her after everything they had discussed the night before. It bothered her that she felt so unsure of herself, especially in front of him. He slowly nodded and looked around the now brightly lit room. Without thinking, she reached out and gently touched his face. His eyes closed as he leaned into the warm touch.

"Yea, I feel light….I feel good." He smiled as his eyes landed on her face and slowly drifted down her body. The familiar ache in his own body began to throb as he reached out and lightly touched her breast. Her body arched into his hand as he fondled the now stiff nub and he leaned down and gently kissed it. "I gotta go," he whispered against her skin. As quickly as he had moved down to touch her, he was standing up and gathering his clothes. Mercedes wasn't sure why she felt so neglected when this was a familiar ritual she had seen men do all of her sexual life. Hippie men were not interested in a very committed life or relationship.

"Oh you gonna book it now?" her voice betrayed her hurt and Sam looked at her and knelt down beside her. He took her face in his hands and kissed her hard on the lips. "I ain't gotta problem with it, I just wanna know the skinny. You know what I'm sayin?" He leaned his forehead against her own sticky one and smiled.

"Yea, I know what you're sayin. I just gotta get home to my folks before they think I went and offed myself or somethin you know? They been thinkin I was dead for years now….gotta show em that I don't die so easy." His words calmed her down as she had her own fears that he would go and do something to himself like she had heard that soldiers who have night terrors do sometimes to escape their own pains and disappointments in life. He stood up again and extended his hand to help her up. She hesistated before taking it because she hadn't wanted the moment to end but she reluctantly took it. They quietly put their clothes on and walked out of the room hand in hand. He opened the front door for her and she walked out into the light and quickly shielded her eyes. The taller man moved in front of her and blocked out the sun so that she could look up into his face. "Thank you."

"Baby, you ain't gotta thank me for nothin man." She reached up and touched his face.

"No, you helped me a lot and I wanna say thank you for makin me feel good. Like you said you would."

"It's cool. Don't like seein people I like hurtin, you dig?" She shrugged and moved her hand down.

"I can dig it." He gave her a lopsided grin and she smiled. "I want to see you again…" He said almost inaudibly as he studied her face and noticed that when she was thinking she slightly squinted. It was something he wanted to see everyday. He wanted to be near her every chance that he could because he had never felt this alive in a long time if ever.

"If the stars want it…it'll happen." She looked over his shoulder and squinted into the sun. "Guess we're shit out of luck." She gave him a small smile and then winked. "Gotta go soldier man….catch you on the flip side." She quickly turned and walked away as Sam stood staring after her. He was in shock. After everything that they had just gone through, after everything that they had just shared, she had just decided to walk away. But at the pace that she was walking Sam wasn't able to see the continuous shake of her body as she tried to hold back the tears that were quickly falling down her face. As much as she wanted to stay with the green eyed man, she knew that he needed time to heal in his life. If they ended up together it would be more damaging than helpful because in his fragile state a failing relationship could easily send him over the edge. Sam watched her until she was out of sight before he managed to turn away. He didn't know what his future held for him…but he hoped that a certain Wild Flower would eventually turn up in it.

4 Years Later….

Sam woke up in his small apartment and dragged his fingers through his slightly long hair. He looked around the small neat room and swung his bare feet on to the cold floor. As usual, he had forgotten to turn on the heat before he had gone to sleep and would pay for his mistake all morning as he walked over the cold tiled floor. For summer time, his apartment building always stayed surprisingly cool. Which he couldn't really complain about since it was nice to come in from the hot humid weather and walk into his cool apartment after work. He quickly looked over at the calendar and let out a breath when he realised that it was a Saturday. Even though he was never late for his teaching job, it always scared him that he would get his days mixed up and be late for work.

He got up and shuffled into his kitchen and started up his coffee machine to get him started for the day. His mother had called him the night before and reminded him that he was supposed to come over for dinner on Saturday night as usual. As much as he now valued his positive relationship with his family, he was still slightly annoyed that this meant family dinners every Saturday. He would have preferred to just relax on his day off. He reassured himself that he would have Sunday to do as he pleased, which was usually nothing.

After he had eaten his breakfast he headed to his mailbox and opened it with his key. He pulled out the usual junk mail before his eyes landed on the familiar hand writing on a familiar envelope and he smiled. He stuffed it into his pocket and walked over to the nearby diner where he ordered his usual blueberry muffin. The waitress who always told him about her adventures on becoming a famous actress served him with a smile.

"How are you today Sam?" She handed him the muffin with a napkin.

"Good Rachel, you?" He smiled back, but slightly wished that she would leave him alone so that he could read his letter. He pulled it out and laid it on the table just as an extra hint that he had something important to do other than socializing.

"I'm positively great! I got an audition down in New York next week and I've saved enough in tips to board the train and go." She beamed and Sam's eyes grew wide and he smiled back.

"That's amazin! Good stuff! So you leavin and ain't comin back?" He said almost sadly. As annoying as she could be at times, he did enjoy her company and he had for the last two years.

"If all goes well nope, I won't be coming back….I wish I could take you with me though. You always gave me the best tips…what I'm tryin to say is, would you join me for dinner tonight?" Sam looked down at the envelope and shook his head.

"I'm flattered, but I have a family engagement….plus, I'm kind of involved with someone." The brunette woman nodded and looked crestfallen. "I'm really sorry…but why would you want to get involved with an old fuddy duddy teacher with no arm anyways?"

"Don't care about the arm. But I guess it is best. Imma miss you Sam." She said almost tearfully.

"Rachel, you have an entire week to see me again." He laughed, "No use for cryin yet." She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"You only come in Saturday mornings….I'm leaving Friday night." Someone behind the counter called for her and she lightly touched his hand. "That woman, whoever she is, is one lucky broad." She smiled and scurried back to the kitchen. Sam sighed and lifted the letter in his hand before he ripped open the side with his teeth. He tapped the open envelope on to the table and smoothed out the folded paper.

_Hey bro, I've missed ya up here in Canada. I still think you should come out here and stay with me and my family for a few weeks, as much as you think there's only Maple Syrup around here you idiot. The war is almost over and I can't wait to come back down there and introduce my wife and kids to ma and pops. But you already know that since I'm always tellin you and shit. I called mom the other day and she's tryin to get the money to come and visit her grand kids and I think you should come with her. She's gettin old Sam, you shouldn't let her travel alone now. But anyways I miss my twin, I miss our jokes you know. And I'm tired of the phone calls and the letters, so get your ass over here man. Come meet your neices, they're as crazy as we were when we was little. Maybe it's a twin thing? Who knows, love you man. I better see your face soon._

_-Stevie_

Sam smiled and reread the letter in his head. He really missed his brother too. You don't go living with someone for eighteen years, not see them in seven, and not miss them. He rubbed his eyes and decided to go on a walk. He left ten dollars on the table for the muffin and the rest to help Rachel with her journey and walked out of the diner. By habit he looked up at the sky and wondered if the stars would show him anything today, but of course there was just the bright sun in the sky.

Every night he would go out on his fire escape and stare at the starry sky and wonder if the short darker skinned woman was doing the same thing and wondering where he was. Four years had gone by and he figured she probably had gotten hitched by that point and maybe moved out of State. He wouldn't have blamed her had she done it. Not everyone should be as stupid as he was and hold on to a person they had known for only twenty four hours. Of course he had gone on a few dates with some women who thought his arm was 'interesting' or who squirmed when he tried to answer their questions about what the war was like.

He had tried wearing prosthetic arms, but felt uncomfortable looking like he was part mannequin. It was in his closet at home, just in case his mother set him up with another desperate widow who couldn't stand to look at his war wound, but other than that he left it there. He turned on to the path that led to the park and continued on his journey. His mind drifted to the afro haired woman that he thought about everyday. Mercedes 'Wild Flower' Jones….a casualty of the war that hadn't even died but had just as quickly disappeared from his life. He watched as a couple jogged down the path beside him and he smiled at them. Perhaps some day he would meet a woman who wanted to spend time with him, or just a woman who could accept him as he was. He sighed as his eyes drifted over to a bench where a black woman with an afro tied back with a scarf sat reading a book.

He stared at her as he often did when he saw any black woman that slightly ressembled Mercedes. Unfortunately for him the afro was a hair style pretty much embraced by a lot of women at the time and he often sat staring at complete strangers. But the harder he stared at this particular woman the more he realised that her button nose and lively eyes were all too familiar. It had been four years however, so who was to say that the way he remembered her was actually the way that she looked. Unsure of what to think he inched towards her to get a closer look.

He heard screaming and looked to his right and noticed a playground with some very excited kids running around. He recognized a few from his class. He smiled and looked back over at the woman on the bench who was now staring intently back at him. A part of him told him to turn back around, but the slight drop of the womans mouth and the stunned look on her face showed him that this was the very woman he had been looking for for years. He slowly walked up to her and sat down on the bench, but left a space between them.

"Green eyes…" she whispered with a smile. "You found me."

He nodded and smiled back. "I guess I did Wild Flower…" She reached out and gently touched his face. "You look really good."

"Backatcha baby." She pulled her hand back and placed it in her lap. "Sam…I…um, what have you been doin?" She stumbled nervously over her words. He felt the flutter in his chest too and understood her nervousness.

"Teaching. Imma teacher now…grade three." He studied her face and memorised every single detail, just in case this would be the last time he was ever able to see her again. "How bout you? You married now?" Mercedes smiled and shook her head no.

"Nah….been waiting for someone in particular for a very long time." She bit her lip as her eyes roamed over his face. "Grade three huh…good age. They're not really old but not too young so they're disiciplined."

"Yea…they don't judge me like adults do because I ain't exactly perfect." He grinned and her eyes grew wide.

"You always been perfect to me soldier man. Always…I missed ya." She said quietly. "We missed ya… I guess." Sam stared at her in confusion.

"We?" Mercedes smiled and looked over at the playground.

"Star!" She yelled out, "Star come here." Sam looked over at the playground and watched as a tanned skinned little girl with two little afro puffs ran towards them.

"Yes mommy?" She said quietly and Sam stared at her. " I was playin with the big kids mommy did you see?" She said excitedly. Mercedes pulled the little girl into her lap and kissed her on the small button nose that was exactly like her mothers.

"Yes baby, I saw and you played real well with them." The little girl beamed and as if noticing that Sam was there for the first time, looked over at the older man and stared at him. Sam's breath caught in his throat as he stared back into the brown speckled green eyes. He was staring into his own mirrored reflection. "Say hi Star." The little girl batted her long eyelashes and smiled shyly.

"Hi." she stuck out her little hand and Sam slowly shook it.

"Hi….Star?" He looked up at Mercedes and she grinned.

"I thought if I named her Star and if she really wanted her daddy….then maybe…maybe we'd see you again." She shrugged, "Kinda stupid I guess….but I think it worked." He nodded and his gaze landed back on his daughter. "Didn't realise your little soldiers were as strong as you were…and was mighty surprised when I found out I was knocked up two months after I met you." The small girl crawled over to Sam's lap and stared at his arm.

"Aww you got a booboo…I got one too look." She put up her little elbow and showed him the bandaid on her elbow. "I fell and mommy made it better." Sam smiled and touched her little arm.

"I bet your mommy did." Star looked at him in confusion and touched his face.

"Why you cryin for? Does it still hurt…I cried too when I fell." Sam sniffed and touched his face to realise it was wet. He shook his head.

"No…I'm just real happy Star….I'm just real happy." Satisfied with the answer the little girl smiled and her greenish brown eyes lit up.

"I like you!" She giggled and crawled back over to her mother. Sam put his arm around Mercedes shoulder and she scooted over with Star in her lap and snuggled into his side. She quietly leaned her head on his shoulder.

He leaned his body against his new small family and smiled. "I really like you guys too." Mercedes looked up into his face and smiled.

"You mad…?" He saw the worry etched all over her face.

"No…this is the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. You guys hungry? Cause we're goin to a family dinner tonight." Mercedes eyes widened as she took in what he had said. "I want to get to know my daughter…and I have a feeling that her grandparents and aunt will want to too." Star turned her body and placed her head on Sam's chest. "If that's okay with you."

Mercedes slowly nodded and looked at her daughter. "Star…we gonna meet some nice people tonight okay?"

"Okay mommy." Star looked up into Sam's eyes and smiled, "You look like me….."

"I know I do, do you know why?" The little girl slightly nodded.

"Mommy said I look like my daddy…are you my daddy?" Sam nodded and tried to gage the small childs expression. Her eyes lit up and she gave him the same lopsided grin that he recognized as his own. "Good." She placed her head on his chest again and closed her eyes. Sam's heart swelled as he realised that he was going on a new adventure and this time he wouldn't be alone.

a/n : hope you guys sorta liked this, it was just insanity upon insanity and corniness and i hope it was good. didnt really expect a lot of people to read it but im glad you did, so thanks to those of you who did show your interest :)


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